Monday, July 2, 2007

Leo, The Paper Plate


Also known as Leo the Lion, created by Nathan. There he is, taking his curtain call. Of course, I would never tell Nate that Leo reminds me of a mostly eaten dish of spaghetti. My friend Mary Sue gave us a very fun puppet stage that can be suspended in a doorway, so the kids spent the weekend making puppets and staging the production "Leo, The Lion".



It was fun. I used to do this when I was a kid; roaming the neighborhood with my cardboard-box theater on my red wagon, and forcing smaller children to watch my plays. You can see that my mother- in-law is really getting into it, too.


Here's a quick plot synopsis. Leo is a circus lion, but he doesn't like it.


Leo: Roar. Roar.

Ringmaster: Jump through the hoop.

Leo: No.

Ringmaster: Yes.

Leo: No.


In Act Two, Leo decides to run away. The title of each act is announced on a piece of paper shoved out from under the stage, to be read aloud by the audience. This act was called "Boo-Ho." When we read it out loud, a little hand reached out with a purple marker and added another "o".


Leo: I hate it here. Boo-hoo. I'm leaving.


Subsequent acts (each about 10 seconds long) dealt with Leo's struggle top find a place in the world. At first, he thought he could live with the snakes, but it didn't work out; he is rejected by the spiders and the screaming monkeys; he finally finds a happy home with the gypsies.


The End.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, yeah your mother-in-law really looks like she's having a blast. You should tell her to tone it down. Don't want to look like we're having too much fun. :)

Puppet shows are great. Especially when they contain both lions and gypsies.

Amrita said...

So cute. Today our neighbour 's daughter entertained us with enactments of some of the skits they did in her summer camp. Kids love drama and acting.

Maria said...

I should send my child to you. She LOVES crafts and I can hardly stand them. She would have had so much fun at your house.

And...I need to comment that I LOVE your rug in the photos!

Plus, I think you should put some whiskey in your MIL's cup. It might jolt her up a bit...

Kate said...

I'm thinking of having a dinner party that involves adult puppet making, followed by adult-themed shows. I'll keep working on this concept.

Kate said...

And, Maria, I'm actually a craft idiot. My poor kids - nothing I help them with ever turns out well. Thank God for glue guns, that's all I can say.

Diane said...

Love it! See what I missed... I'm sure Nate will forgive me when I finally get to oooo and aaaa over his incredible puppetry skills!

Alice Kildaire said...

That looks like so much fun! Every kid should be as lucky! Have you ever videoed their performances? They'd probably love it and it would make an excellent "first date" weapon for later!